Thursday, November 1, 2012

Better Know Your ANC Candidates: ANC 1B05

The eleventh in our Better Know Your ANC Candidates series is fightin' ANC 1B05, which you can see at right (the southern boundary is V Street and Florida Ave.)

ANC 1B05 is currently represented by Mary M. Streett, who isn't running this time. The lone candidate is Ricardo A. Reinoso. His answers are below.

The idea with these posts is that you can learn about who is running for the ANC in your area and if you'd like, be able to learn more about them via their websites or emails. The ANC advises the city council on local issues and also can issue grants, hold events, and approve or deny liquor licenses.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself.I am the son of Peruvian immigrants and was raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I am a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, moved to Washington, DC in 1996, and have been a long-time member of the Meridian Hill Neighborhood Association. I have a passion for the arts and co-founded the Latino-focused Radiofutura.com, founded Nuvo Music and the Eden Experience, and created and supervised the curriculum for a DJ school called the DJ Lab. In 2008, I worked for the Obama for America campaign in Florida. I was a candidate for the 2010 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Man of the Year fundraising campaign, and subsequently sat on the campaign’s Leadership Committee. I currently work in an international financial organization and sit on the board of Liberty’s Promise, an immigrant youth-focused non-profit.

2. Why are you running for ANC?I have been on my block for 14+ years so I feel it is time to take a more active role in doing more for the community I’ve called home for so many years.

3. What are the biggest issues confronting your district?
Trash collection and crime remain big issues in our district. But everywhere you turn these days there is a construction crane, so with the overwhelming number of projects in the area, sanitation and safety issues increasingly arise that are not always dealt with effectively and immediately.

4. What do you think the ANC can do better?The ANC can make a more concerted effort to actually go out to meet our residents to hear their concerns and opinions; having them only come to us does not suffice. I would also like the ANC to do a better job of either developing a comprehensive code of ethics for Commissioners or pushing the DC government to enact one for the ANC.

5. What do you think the area needs more of?
Based on my years in the neighborhood, I feel ANC1B needs more MPD foot patrols, more summer job and apprenticeship programs for our kids and our formerly incarcerated residents, more community driven green initiatives (such as community gardens and green roofs, particularly for new development projects), more cycling traffic lights (the number of cyclists has dramatically increased but with that has come more cyclist and pedestrian safety concerns), more hardware stores, more locally developed coffee shops and delis, and more arts-focused projects that help drive the local economy.

6. One of the ANC's jobs is to regulate liquor licenses. What are your thoughts on these issues?
I am still developing my complete stance on this issue but I personally feel there are probably more than enough liquor licenses in our area. We should focus more on supporting a wider variety of businesses that improve the overall quality of life for our residents.